Mumbai

Mumbai India.

The city Mumbai was called Bombay for much of the last four hundred years. The origin of the name is obscure, but is often said to come from the Portuguese phrase bom bahia meaning "good bay". The name Mumbai has been used in the main local languages for as long, and is ascribed to the local goddess, Mumba (ai means mother in Marathi). The name of the city was changed to Mumbai by an act of the parliament in 1997.Tifr

It is a cultural pot pourri... a crazy, cosmopolitan, chaotic city that never sleeps... Bollywood central.

Mumbai couch surfing groups

Mumbai for Travellers

Everything about Mumbai! People, Culture , Customs, Friends, CS meetings, The best places to meet, eat, party , hang out...

Mumbai Couch Surfing Meeting and Happening

The place where you get to know about the latest happenings of the Mumbai Couch surfers.... Meetings, parties etc!!

Mumbai Last Minute Couch

This group is to help travelers who would like to send last minute requests to find couches in Mumbai and People who host at the last minute in Mumbai

Mumbai couch surfers

Mumbai hosts feel -

Like CouchSurfers all over the world, CSers in Mumbai do not appreciate freeloaders. Especially freeloaders who do not interact with the family they are staying with and just use the room to save on the hotel bills. Whereas spaces may be small, they are generous and hospitable people.

While requesting for a couch, try and write to members individually based on interests instead of mailing the Top 10 hosts. They are probably already swamped with requests. Mumbai is a very active CS city and there are many members who will be willing to offer a couch. In case you can't get a couch, please get in touch with CS ambassadors or try Mumbai last minute couch group. Mumbai Last Minute Couch

Mumbai Travel Info

Travel Info

In need of travel info? Go check the Mumbai for travelers Group.

Post any queries on Mumbai in this group and you will get a reply within an hour, rest assured.

Visiting Film City aka Bollywood

To visit bollywood you would need to contact the film studios directly. Without permission it is almost impossible to visit the film city.

Filmistan Studio, S. V. Road, Goregaon (West), Mumbai – 400 062.

Tel : 28722207 – 08 / 28722124. Fax : 28722207 – 08, 28722124.

Kamal Amrohi Studio, Mahal Pictures Pvt. Ltd.,6, Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road, Andheri (East), Mumbai – 400 093.

Tel : 28371160, 28200826. Fax : 28371160. E-mail : mahal_pictures@hotmail.com

Mehboob Studio, 100, Hill Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai – 400 050.

Tel : 26421628 / 30. Fax : 26421626

Natraj Studio, 194, Andheri Kurla Road, Andheri (East), Mumbai – 400 069.

Tel : 26831970, 26843975, 26823443.

R. K. Studio, Sion Trombay Road, Chembur, Mumbai – 400 071.

Tel : 25200234, 25203250-2. Fax : 25203533.

Travel Tips

Always take a pre paid taxi to your host's house. This will save you the hassle at the airport.

Note:-This is only available from the International terminal. The pre-paid services has been discontinued at the domestic terminal(intra-city flights) hence at the domestic terminal you can catch a rickshaw if you are travelling to the suburbs.If you are travelling to colaba etc you would need to catch a taxi

Mumbai Meeting's

Nov 25, 2005 Cafe Coffee Day Carter Road

Jan 05, 2006 Salt n' pepper Andheri

March 08, 2006 Cafe Coffee Day Bandra

May 06, 2006 cafe samovar

July 29, 2006 Bagel shop Bandra

Meet up Details

write up

Aug 29, 2006 Cafe coffee day Bandra

Aug 29, 2006 Photos at Cafe coffee day Bandra

Sep 07,2006 Ramadan Meet up.Khau galli

Nov 22, 2006 Toto's, Bandra

Jan 12 ,2007 Carter road Amphitheater,Bandra

Feb 25 ,2007 Cafe seaside,Bandstand Bandra

Meetup thread

Total Attended 55 Couchsurfers!!

October 6 , 2007 Carter Road Meetup CCD

October 13 ,2007 Cafe Mondegar Meet Up

Photos from the Mondegar Meet Up

October 14 ,2007 Kayani Meetup

Unofficial meet ups happen every other day.. Official meet ups are typically once a month.

Other Meetups

Aug 12 ,2006 Walli bhai Dinner Meetup

Sept 06, 2006 Ganesh Visarjan Meetup

Sept 17,2006 First Mumbai CS houseparty

Dec 31, 2006 New Years Eve party

Mar 04,2007 Holi festival Meet up

Holi Meet UP thread

Holi Meet Up photos by Dipayan

Holi photos by Ambrish

Outstation Meet ups/Travels

Feb 25 & 26 ,2006 Murud Janjira

Oct 01, 2006 Ganpatipule

IM/Cs Ganpatipule write up

Well.. if there is no meet up slated for the week, put up a post in the Meeting and Happening group and you can organize your own meeting and for sure, members will turn up. This is a cool group to invite localities to meet travellers.

Mar 25 ,2007 Elephanta Caves

City happenings

You can also access happenings within the city on the group MAXIMUM CITY It has information on cultural happenings within the city and various art exhibits etc.

How to...

...Ride the local train (by example of "Western"):

1. Make sure you know where you want to go.

2. Buy a ticket at the counter (go where a thousand people are already lined up) and state your destination and if you want a return ticket. If it is your first time and you are a bit unsure about crowds (or it is rush hour), get a "First Class" ticket. This will be 10 times more expensive but still cheaper than any ticket you can buy in Europe for a local ride and might be not as crowded.. Advanced riders can get coupons or a pass.

3. Read the timetable: a) first will be the destination; sample destinations and their meaning: C= Churchgate, ST= CST/ VT/ Victoria Terminus, B= Bandra, A= Andheri, V= Virar, BO= Borivali. b) next will be time of departure. c) IMPORTANT: S= slow, F= fast. this means the "fast" train will not stop at all stations, will therefore be faster, but usually also more crowded (avoid the "V"irar train at rush hour!) d) nobody knows what the last item means...

4. Go to your appropriate platform (the very first, fixed number on the timetable). Now, ladies traveling alone should look for the stripe marks on the platform and wait there for a ladies compartment... First class riders do the same. Once the train enters and slows down hold your belongings tight and prepare to enter the train "pirate"-style; you will see....

5. There is an outline of the train route above the doors, if you cannot read it, look at the opposite door. Find your destination and fight your way to the exit at least one stop prior to it! Try to jump out before the train stops, otherwise you will be crushed by boarding passengers (no joke). Hint: Jump with the direction of the train, keep on running. Basic knowledge of the physics of moving objects is a plus!
Good Luck!

Use local transport

Public Taxi fares as on 17th Jan were Rs 13.00 minimum fare. Always insist on seeing the card when paying the taxicab, and ensure that they reset the meter to zero when they start driving you around.

When you are taking an auto rickshaw, ask for the card and pay as per the meter. Otherwise, the calculation is basically multiply 10 Rs and minus 1 Rupee. So, if the reading is 1.6 it is 1.6 X 10 = 16 - 1 Re. = 15 Rs. to be paid...

Book trains from Mumbai to other places

To book trains from Mumbai there is a special tourist counter at chuchgate and CST (Formerly VT ) station. The reservation center at CST is located at the back of CST where the taxis gather. Tourist-quota tickets are available at Counter 52 on the 1st floor but can only be bought during the 24 hours before the date of travel.The reservation center at churchgate is located at the Government of India Tourist Office is situated at 123 Maharshi Karve Road, opposite Churchgate station and open Monday through Friday from 8.30 am to 6 pm, and on Saturday from 8.30 am to 2 pm. It brings out a free brochure on Mumbai and guide covering Mumbai's major entertainment events every two weeks. It also runs a 24-hour counter at the International airport and a counter at the domestic airport that stays open till the last flight. Indrail passes can be bought at Counter 7.You can even try e-booking online with a credit card at [1]

Geography and Suggested Itinerary in Bombay

'Geography of Bombay'

Bombay is like 3 long lines running from North (Inland area) to South (Peninsula). The 3 lines are Western line, Central line and harbor line. The further North you go, you go into suburban Bombay. The further South you go, you head towards actual old Bombay or Town. That’s the prettiest part of Bombay.

Suggested Itinerary for three days

Day 1 – Town side all the way Day 2 – Day trip to Elephanta Caves & Haji Ali on the way back Day 3 – Bombay Miscellaneous – Different options have been given on the basis of various interests

Day 1 In town side, you can spend the day just walking around – things to see are listed below : - Colaba market - Gateway of India and Taj Mahal Hotel - Sassoon Dock next to Colaba market - Fort area & Flora Fountain ( The old colonial buildings stretch all the way till VT Station) - Prince of Wales Museum & Jehangir Art Gallery - Marine Drive all the way up to Chowpatty Beach - Second hand book stores next to Flora fountain - You can also take an evening cruise of South Mumbai from Chowpatty and enjoy the view of Marine Drive by night.

Some good places to catch lunch are Café Mondegar, Café Leopold or Café Churchill for some Continental food. Café Samovar inside Jehangir Art gallery is a nice place too. More elaborate seafood lunch at Mahesh Lunch Home, Fort. Parsi cuisine (good ole place) is Café Britannia at Ballard Estate or Paradise in Colaba.

Day 2 From the Gateway, you can take a ferry to Elephanta caves. You can spend about 3 – 4 hours there and get back to Gateway. If you don't have the time you can do a harbour cruise( about an hour, Rs 50, Rs5 more if you want to sit on the top deck) The evening can be spent at Haji Ali. (If you have already seen Marine drive the previous day, go to Haji Ali, else spend at Marine drive)You could also make it to the beautiful Banganga tank where there are a numerous temples and a dhobi ghat as well.

To get to Haji Ali, take Western line train from Churchgate to Mahalkshmi station – Slow train. From Mahalakshmi station, take cab to Haji Ali junction. You can visit Mahalakshmi temple and see the Haji ali mosque and take a stroll down the seaface. Across the road is the Bombay race course. There are two big malls – Crossroads and Hira Panna, which are ok places to visit. To return, take train from Mahalakshmi back to Bandra station through the Western line.

Day 3 - Visit ISKON temple and Juhu Beach at Juhu - Visit Phoenix Mills, a big shopping arcade at Lower Parel & Dhobi Ghat at Mahalakshmi Temple - Bandra in detail – Mount Mary church, Bandstand, Carter Road, Linking Road shopping market

Festive Season in Mumbai

Mumbai / Bombay is a place where almost all the Indian festivals are celebrated with great fervor. If you want to experience the celebrations, you might want to keep the following months in mind -

March - Holi (Holi is the festival of colors, the festival everyone loves the most in India. Do not forget to have a glass or two of Bhaang)

August - September - Ganesh Chaturthi (Ganesh is the favorite Indian God. He has the head of an elephant and body of a human being. The celebrations last for 10 days. On the last day - Ganpati Visarjan (immersion of the idol) takes place & its even more fun to attend a Ganpati Visarjan.

October - November - Diwali & Navratri. Diwali is the festival of lights. This festival also marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year. Children and elders burst crackers and the entire country is in a festive mood. the celebrations last for 4 days and people visit each others house & wish each other. Marine Drive has fantastic fireworks in the night & one should go there to experience it.

Navratri - this is the festival of Dandiyas & Garbas (traditional Gujrati Dance form). People play Dandiya on the beats of live music & everyone is dressed in traditional attire. A must experience festival for everyone visiting Mumbai.

You can find above attractions mapped in Google maps at Mumbai Itinerary

Mumbai Places to Eat

Its a city which offers you meals at less than 25 Rs and meals for more than 2500 Rs. Restaurants are in every street corner.. know bombay through your stomach !!

Some of the dishes that you should try out while you are here -

1. Maharashtrian Dishes - Puranpoli (Sweet Chapatis), Thalipeeth (mixture of 4-5 types of flours, extremely delicios), Vada Pao (indian burger), Sabudana Wada, Kothimbir Wadi

2. Gujarati Dishes - Dhoklas, Khandvis, Gujarathi Thalis, Oondhiya

3. Punjabi Dishes - Tandoori items

4. Parsi Dishes - Dhansakh

5. South Indian Dishes - Dosa's(lots of varities), Idlis, Avvaial, Payasam,

  Kori rotti(only available in non-veg Udipi Restaurant)

Check out Mumbai Gastronomy page for a comprehensive list of restaurants

Mumbai Nightlife

Mumbai night life rocks -

Colaba and South Bombay - Leopold, Not just jazz by the bay, Red Light, Polyesters, Mondegar's(Mondy's), Moshe, Henry Tham's, Wink (Hotel President), Insomnia (Hotel Taj), Prive

Worli - Hard Rock Cafe, Shiro's

Lower Parel - Aziano, Lush, Monza, Sports Bar, Blue Frog

Bandra - Totos Garage, Hawaiian Shack, Zenzi, Purple Haze, Pulse, H2O, Olive

Juhu - Rain, Vie Lounge, Rockbottom, Enigma, Aurus

Andheri (near international airport) - Sutra (in hotel intercontinental, the grand), Hi Lounge (Sahara Star), Bling (The Leela)

Powai - Velvet Lounge (in The Renaissance)

If you are interested in Karaoke nights -

Soul Fry - Monday nights, Bandra (near Pali Market) Not Just Jazz By the Bay - Churchgate.

Helpful External Links=

Lodging in Mumbai @ Rs 500 per day

Extrabed hosting for bloggers by bloggers

Couchsurfing Mumbai in the Media

DNA's article There’s a tourist on my couch

For the Bombay wiki travel page access Bombay Wiki Travel Page

csgroup:1910 wikitravel:Mumbai